Spider Woman

It's funny the journeys that a project can take you on. This started with the prompt "Something Old" announced on the blog Mixed Media Monday. My first thought was to find images of beauty in older women, something one doesn't see much of in the media. Somewhere in the the assortment of pictures (google image search) was an image that related to the First Nation myth of Spider Woman. Now that idea had some real energy and it took off from there. I used silver thread to string a spider web on the door of the box, which I'd just purchased at Found in Portland for $8.00. It didn't have any glass - perfect! It wasn't easy at first - broke the trim at one point - but then it started to flow and I got a taste of the joy of weaving and a new respect for spiders. I used a bead loom to create a mini-weaving and some embroidery thread to create balls of yarn. A trip to a leather store yielded a piece of rabbit skin and some deerskin. The little pot was made with air-drying clay. This was such a joy to make.  

"Spider Woman appears in stories throughout the Americas, even throughout the world. She is found among the Fates that weave destiny. The name Penelope in the Odyssey means "with a web on her face - the one who sees with "webbed vision. In Pueblo mythology Thought Woman, Sun Father, and Corn Mother are the most important deities. These primal deities are interdependent. Thought Woman, the Spider Woman, is the creatrix, who imagines things, and as she thinks them, they become. This is the creative impulse she passes on, originating from the primal center of the Web, an eternally generative thread continually expanding." (From: http://www.rainwalker.com/)

Spider Woman possessed supernatural power at the time of creation, when Dine (Navajo) emerged from the third world into this fourth world...It was Spider Woman who taught Dine ancestors of long ago the art of weaving upon a loom. She told them, "My husband, Spider Man, constructed the weaving loom making the cross poles of sky and Earth cords to support the structure; the warp sticks of sun rays, lengthwise to cross the woof; the healds of rock crystal...Through many generations, the Dine have always been accomplished weavers

SPIDER WOMAN SAVES THE DAY

One day, a peaceful cave-dwelling Dine youth was hunting in Dead Man's Canyon...Suddenly, he saw an enemy tribesman who chased him deeper into the canyon. As the peaceful Dine ran, he looked quickly from side to side, searching for a place to hide or to escape. Directly in front of him stood the giant obelisk-like Spider Rock [where Spider Woman lives]. What could he do? He knew it was too difficult for him to climb. He was near exhaustion. Suddenly, before his eyes he saw a silken cord hanging down from the top of the rock tower. The youth grapsed the magic cord, which seemed strong enough, and quickly tied it around his wist. With its help he climbed the tall tower, escaping from his enemy who then gave up the chase. When the youth reached the top, he stretched out to rest. There he discovered a most pleasant place with eagle's eggs to eat and the night's dew to drink.

Imagine his surprise when he learned that his rescuer was Spider Woman! She told him how she had seen him and his predicamnet. She showed him how she made her strong web-cord and anchored one end of it to a point of rock. She showed him how she she let down the rest of her web-cord to help him climb the rugged Spider Rock. Later, when the peaceful youth felt assured his enemy was gone, he thanked Spider Woman warmly and safely descended to the canyon floor by using her magic cord. He ran home as fast as he could run, reporting to his tribe how his life was saved by Spider Woman. (From http://www.firstpeople.us/)